Curmudgeon's Corner

Village Buzz - January 21st...

Posted by Al Campbell on Jan. 21, 2009

Germantown, Political, Village Board, Village Buzz

Representative Knodl Case Moving Toward Deal...

The Journal Sentinel reported that Rep. Dan Knodl's attorney has been working with the Ozaukee County D.A. Sandy Williams to resolve the case that has been causing him embarrassment since before the election when people listed as supporters proved not to be supporters.

There is apparently a deal in the works that would see the originally charged criminal misdemeanor count reduced to a civil forfeiture.  In return, Knodl would agree to pay a $250 forfeiture and to take an advertisement in the Journal Sentinel in which he will explain what happened and issue his apologies.

Improper Meeting Convened By Public Safety Committee?

I received several questions about the meeting that was reported in my January 12th Village Buzz piece that included the 'minutes' of the meeting held in the Village Hall on Friday, January 9th.  This was attended by Village President Tom Kempinski, Trustee Dean Wolter, Trustee Mel Ewert, Trustee Al Vanderheiden, Village Administrator Dave Schornack, Deputy Fire Chief Mike Maury and Deputy Chief John Delain.  Wolter is the Committee Chair.  The only committee member not present was Jeff Werderman.

The questions being posed relate to whether or not notice of this meeting was properly given prior to it being convened.  I am embarrassed to say that this hadn't occurred to me to be a question I needed to ask since there was what is called a quorum present and I operated under the assumption that the meeting was properly called.

I called the Village Clerk's office this morning and was advised that no notice had been published or otherwise issued so far as they are aware.

The email from the Committee Chair that I published on January 12th, with the Chair's permission, contained 'action items', and those were introduced at the most recent Village Board meeting as if the Committee had been convened in a properly noticed meeting.

If this was a properly called meeting, I would be curious to understand how that was possible without a notice issued the requisite number of days or hours before the meeting was to be convened.  Maybe there is some other quirk of which I am unaware.  I'll be happy to post a correction should that be pointed out to me.

In the meantime, I suspect that this was a meeting that violated an Ordinance of the Village.

There have been periodic 'walking quorums' observed in the community and those are expressly prohibited since the public's business needs be conducted in public.  This seems to have been another instance.  I hope I'm wrong but I don't think so.

If I'm not, then this simply must be stopped once and for all.  I do not believe it is legal, and I do believe that our elected officials ought to know what they can and cannot do.  I'm quite sure they have been made aware and probably more than once.